My first experience with Slackware Linux came with version 9.1, after 4 years of using various versions of Red Hat and SUSE Linux. I disliked the general direction these distributions were moving in and didn't see their increasing focus on the "big end of town" as auguring well for either myself or clients of my small one-person IT consultancy business. I quickly became a Slackware convert and have since used it exclusively for all my server deployments. Check in for more and 15 screenshots from Slackware 10.

The jabs at Slackware's installation routine do have some credibility.

The setup routine assumes the user has already partitioned the disk. If a prospective Slackware user doesn't know how to do that, or does not want to run fdisk manually, then he will never install Slackware. No Linux distribution that I've seen has managed to completely eliminate the partitioning bump, but Slackware isn't even close.

If hardware is not detected, the user will be required to identify it. E.g., a network card. Anyone interested in seeing more Linux usage should cater to the needs of people who don't know what's inside their PC.

Finally, there is the lack of a handholding way to set up X. The tools provided by X are there, of course, but the install routine doesn't tell the user about them. (And they don't work all that well.) Like partioning, Slackware assumes the user brings with her the skills needed to get it running.

That said, Slackware is a great distribution. I've used it for years. It is the only distribution I know that does not hamper the user with an overlay of well-meaning distribution-specific scaffolding that, sooner or later, gets in the way of an experienced Linux user.